The present application pertains to aviation navigational systems and methods, and, more particularly, to improved systems and methods for cockpit display of traffic information. Such systems and methods can be used, by way of example, for real-time display of potential air traffic conflicts and collision avoidance.
Aviation navigational systems allow a pilot to determine an aircraft's heading, altitude and position, e.g., vis-a-vis navigational beacons, the global positioning system or otherwise.
More advanced systems also display air traffic in the vicinity of the “host” aircraft. These displays typically provide a radar scope-like arrangement concentric circles indicating distance to potential traffic conflicts (e.g., oncoming aircraft, slower moving aircraft, and so forth), with triangles or other symbols indicating the general direction of those conflicts relative to the host craft's current heading. Symbols displayed within the innermost circles are closer to the craft; those in outermost ones are further away.
A problem with these displays is that they provide to the pilot little intuitive feel for the nature or immediacy of the conflict. Rather, the pilot of the host aircraft must “read” the display and discern the significance of the potential conflict in terms of its nature, direction, and time to visual (or other) contact. Under conditions of poor visibility, this can be problematic.
Some aviation navigational systems also display the host craft position relative to a pre-determined flight route and/or relative to the geography over which it is flying. These displays are typically two-dimensional (2D), though, increasingly the marketplace offers three-dimensional (3D) displays. One such system is the VistaNav™ flight navigation system, commercially available from the assignee hereof, that displays real-time, synthetic three-dimensional (3D) images of the airspace and terrain in the vicinity of an aircraft in-flight, as well as during take-off and landing.
Though systems such as VistaNav™ represent a significant advance in aviation navigational systems, there remains room for improvement. Such is an object of this invention.
More generally, an object of this invention is to provide improved methods and apparatus for aviation navigation.
Further objects of the invention are to provide such methods and systems for improved cockpit display of traffic information.
Yet further objects of the invention are to provide such methods and systems as for real-time display of potential air traffic conflicts and collision avoidance.
Still other objects of the invention are to provide such methods and systems as can be readily understood by pilots, copilots, navigators and others.